Ministry of the Chits

The Ministry of the Chits[1] was the government of the Kingdom of England from November 1679 to 1688. The administration was led by three young ministers, collectively known as the chits:[2] Laurence Hyde (Earl of Rochester, 1682), Sidney Godolphin (Lord Godolphin, 1684) and the Earl of Sunderland.

Rochester, brother-in-law of King Charles II's brother James, Duke of York, served as First Lord of the Treasury until "kicked upstairs" (term coined by Lord Halifax[3]) as Lord President of the Council in September 1684. On the Duke of York's succession as King James II in February 1685, Rochester returned as Lord High Treasurer. He was troubled by the King's Catholicism and disputed religious matters with him. On 4 January 1687 James II dismissed Rochester and his brother the Earl of Clarendon, replacing both with Catholic appointees, Lord Belasyse (aged 72) and Lord Arundell (aged 79).

Sunderland, who served variously as Northern Secretary and Southern Secretary, and additionally as Lord President of the Council from 1685, remained in post until his dismissal by James II in October 1688, when he fled to Rotterdam.

Godolphin, First Lord of the Treasury 1684–85, was retained at the Treasury by William III, returning as First Lord in the Carmarthen Ministry of 1690.

The Chits

The moniker "the chits" stems from a satirical verse on the three ministers, attributed to John Dryden by Johnson's Dictionary:[4]

But Sunderland, Godolphin, Lory,
These will appear such chits in story,
'Twill turn all politics to jests,
To be repeated like John Dory,
While fiddlers sing at feasts.<ref>Russell, Lord John (1820). "The Life of William Lord Russell, Vol. 1, p.182". Google Books. Retrieved 6 May 2016.</ref>

The Ministry

November 1679 to September 1684

OFFICE	NAME	TERM
First Lord of the Treasury	The Earl of Rochester	1679–1684
Treasury Commissioner Northern Secretary	Sidney Godolphin	1679–1684 1684
Northern Secretary Southern Secretary Northern Secretary	The Earl of Sunderland	1679–1680 1680–1681 1683–1684
Lord Chancellor Lord Keeper	The 1st Earl of Nottingham	1679–1682
	The Lord Guilford	1682–1684
Lord President of the Council	The Earl of Radnor	1679–1684
Lord Privy Seal	The Earl of Anglesey	1679–1682
	The Marquess of Halifax	1682–1684
Lord Steward	The Duke of Ormonde	1679–1684
Lord Chamberlain	The Earl of Arlington	1679–1681
	The Earl of Mulgrave	1681–1684
Southern Secretary	Henry Coventry	1679–1680
	The Earl of Sunderland	1680–1681
	Sir Leoline Jenkins	1681–1684
Northern Secretary	The Earl of Sunderland	1679–1680
	Sir Leoline Jenkins	1680–1681
	The Earl of Conway	1681–1683
	The Earl of Sunderland	1683–1684
	Sidney Godolphin	1684
Chancellor of the Exchequer	Sir John Ernle	1679–1684
First Lord of the Admiralty	Sir Henry Capell	1679–1681
	The 2nd Earl of Nottingham	1681–1684

• Lord Nottingham was Lord Chancellor until 1682, when Lord Guilford assumed the same position; however, the latter had not yet acceded to the peerage, and was therefore forced to assume the position of Lord Keeper. For all intents and purposes, these positions are identical, and have been formatted as such.
• Additionally, there were two Earls of Nottingham: the elder Nottingham served as Lord Chancellor, and his successor to the earldom served as First Lord of the Admiralty.

September 1684 to February 1685

OFFICE	NAME	TERM
First Lord of the Treasury	The Lord Godolphin	1684–1685
Southern Secretary	The Earl of Sunderland	1684–1685
Lord President of the Council	The Earl of Rochester	1684–1685
Lord Keeper	The Lord Guilford	1684–1685
Lord Privy Seal	The Marquess of Halifax	1684–1685
Lord Steward	The Duke of Ormonde	1684–1685
Lord Chamberlain	The Earl of Mulgrave	1684–1685
Northern Secretary	The Earl of Middleton	1684–1685
Chancellor of the Exchequer	Sir John Ernle	1684–1685

February 1685 to October 1688

OFFICE	NAME	TERM	How left office
Lord High Treasurer First Lord of the Treasury	The Earl of Rochester	1685–1687
	The Lord Belasyse	1687–1689
Chamberlain to the Queen Treasury Commissioner	The Lord Godolphin	1685–1687 1687–1689	"He adhered to James till the last; he was one of the council of five [the others were Belasyse, Preston, Jeffreys and Arundell] appointed to remain in London when James advanced to Salisbury [on 17 November], and he was sent with Halifax and Nottingham to treat with the Prince of Orange at Hungerford in December."[5]
Lord President of the Council and Southern Secretary Lord President of the Council and Northern Secretary	The Earl of Sunderland	1685–1688	Dismissed 27 October 1688[6]
	The Viscount Preston	October 1688
Lord Chancellor	The Lord Jeffreys	1685–1688	Surrendered the great seal to the king, 8 December 1688[7]
Lord Privy Seal	The Earl of Clarendon	1685–1687
	The Lord Arundell of Wardour	1687–1688	"On the abdication of James, Arundell retired to his house at Breamore, Hampshire, and took no further part in public life."[8]
Lord Steward	The Duke of Ormonde	1685–1688	Died 21 July 1688
Lord Chamberlain	The Earl of Mulgrave	1685–1689	"Upon William's landing in England Mulgrave remained with James in London until the time of his flight. When the news of his capture in Kent [on 11 December] reached London, Halifax wished to adjourn the council of lords, who carried on a provisional government, in order to avoid the responsibility of action. But Mulgrave, begging them to keep their seats, introduced the king's messenger, and prevailed on them to send Lord Feversham to the assistance of James (Mulgrave, Account of the Revolution). He came to the aid also of the Spanish ambassador when the mob demolished his house, inviting him to Whitehall and paying him marked honour. For this conduct, which avoided friction with the Spanish court, he received the thanks of both James and William. On the establishment of the revolutionary government Mulgrave quietly submitted and voted for associating William with Mary on the throne."[9]
Northern Secretary	The Earl of Middleton	1685–October 1688	Transferred to Southern Department Oct. 1688[10]
Southern Secretary	The Earl of Middleton	October 1688	"[H]e justified the confidence reposed in him by remaining faithful to James to the last. After the king's sudden withdrawal to Faversham [on the night of 10/11 December] he declined to attend the meeting of the lords and privy council called to consider the steps to be taken in the crisis (Clarke, Life of James II, ii. 259). Nevertheless he was one of the four nobles deputed by them to invite the king to return to Whitehall, and was present with him at Whitehall when a message came from the Prince of Orange that James should retire from London. At the king's request he arranged for his withdrawal to Rochester [on 18 December]. Subsequently he waited on the king there to surrender the seals of the secretary's office, and endeavoured to induce him to abandon his projected flight and to summon a parliament. It was to him that the king, after making his secret escape, left the paper containing his reasons for ‘withdrawing himself from England.’ "[11]
Chancellor of the Exchequer	Sir John Ernle	1685–1688

References

1. Treasure, Geoffrey; Dawson, Ian (1998). Who's Who in British History, Vol.1, A-H: Hyde, Laurence, Earl of Rochester. Google Books. ISBN 9781884964909. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
2. Ward, Adolphus William (1891). "Hyde, Laurence" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. 28. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
3. Macaulay, Thomas Babington (1889). The History of England from the Accession of James the Second. 1. London: Longmans. p. 136.
4. Johnson, Samuel (1773). "A Dictionnary of the English Language (4th ed.)". Google Books. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
5. Dictionary of National Biography article
6. Dictionary of National Biography article
7. Dictionary of National Biography article
8. Dictionary of National Biography article
9. Dictionary of National Biography article
10. 'Lists of appointments', in Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 2, Officials of the Secretaries of State 1660-1782, ed. J C Sainty (London, 1973), pp. 22-58. British History Online accessed 13 January 2018.
11. Dictionary of National Biography article